Marriage Visa

Applications for receiving residence permit for marriage visa in Turkey in line with laws from Turkish consulates in the countries of which the foreigners are national or in the countries where the foreigners live legally will be put into practice in the near future. Foreigners currently make residence permit applicants to the governorships of the cities where they will reside until this stage begins to be applied.

All persons with a valid residence permit may enter or leave our country by being exempted from visa requirements. If a foreigner who is staying in Turkey by virtue of a residence permit still maintains the conditions of residence such foreigner may extend the residence permit thereof from the governorships of the cities where they reside without leaving the country at the end of the residence permit period or may be granted a residence permit a new situation if they meet the conditions for another residence permit.

Family residence permits are granted to the foreign spouse of the sponsor in Turkey, or the minor children of the sponsor or the spouse thereof who need care.

The sponsor must meet the following conditions in order that the spouse thereof can receive a residence permit:

- The sponsor must provide a valid health insurance covering all family members,

- The sponsor must have a monthly income in any case not less than the minimum wage in total corresponding not less than one third of the minimum wage per each family member,

- The sponsor must submit proof of not having been convicted of any crime against family during the five years preceding the application with a criminal record certificate,

- The sponsor must have been residing in Turkey for at least one year on a residence permit,

- The sponsor have been registered with the address based registration system.

If the sponsor has more than one spouse, this permission can be granted only to one of the spouses and all the children.

Family residence permits are granted for a maximum of two years at a time and this period cannot exceed the sponsor's residence permit. Children under 18 years of age residing in Turkey within the purview of family residence permit, are entitled to receive education in primary and secondary education institutions. Children who reside by this permission for at least three years may switch to a short-term residence permit if they desire after they become 18 years old. If a foreigner who has received a residence permit is divorced from the sponsor of thereof, the foreign spouse may obtain a short-term residence permit if such spouse has stayed in Turkey for at least three years. However, these conditions are not sought for foreign spouse who have been determined as victims due to domestic violence by court orders.

Family residence permit is canceled if the person who resides in Turkey does not anymore have the conditions sought have Article 35 of the relevant law or if the person has been abroad for a total of one hundred to be eighty days in the last year and if it is detected by the provincial governorships that the marriage has been made in order to receive residence permit. Citizenship of persons who have become citizen through fake marriage is also canceled.

In addition to family residence permit, there are also other types of residence permits such as short-term residence permits, student residence permits, long-term residence permits, humanitarian residence permits and human trafficking victimization residence permits.

According to article 35 of foreigners and international protection law no. 6458:

The sponsor has to provide the following conditions while requesting a family residence permit:

- The sponsor must have a monthly income in any case not less than the minimum wage in total corresponding not less than one third of the minimum wage per each family member,

- The sponsor must ) live in accommodation conditions appropriate to general health and safety standards corresponding to the number of family members and to have medical insurance covering all family members

- The sponsor must submit proof of not having been convicted of any crime against family during the five years preceding the application with a criminal record certificate,

- The sponsor must have been residing in Turkey for at least one year on a residence permit;

- The sponsor must have been registered with the address based registration system.

The condition that sponsor must be residing in Turkey since at least one year with a residence permit does not apply for those who have a residence permit or work permit for scientific research, who are within the scope of Article 28 of Law No. 5901 or who are married to Turkish citizens.

The following requirements are sought for foreign citizens who will require a family residence permit in order to stay with the sponsor in Turkey:

- The foreign citizen must not marry in order to receive a family residence permit,

- Each of the spouses has reached the age of eighteen,

- Not to be included within the scope of Article 7.

The conditions stated in the first paragraph of this Article may not be requested for refugees and persons residing under secondary protection status in Turkey.

Law No. 6458, Article 7;

Foreigners who shall be refused to enter into Turkey and turned are those:;

- who do not hold a passport, a travel document, a visa or, a residence or a work permit or, such documents or permits has been obtained deceptively or, such documents or permits are false.

- whose passport or travel document expires sixty days prior to the expiry date of the visa, visa exemption or the residence permit.

- without prejudice to paragraph 2 of Article 15 of Law No. 6458, foreigners listed in paragraph one of Article 15 even if they are exempted from a visa

Actions in connection with this Article shall be notified to foreigners who are refused entry. This notification shall also include information on how foreigners would effectively exercise their right of appeal against the decision as well as other legal rights and obligations applicable in the process.

Article 15 of Law 6458;

Visa shall be refused for those foreigners whose/ who;

- passport or travel document is not valid at least sixty days beyond the expiry date of the visa requested,

- are banned from entering Turkey;

- are considered undesirable for reasons of public order or public security;

- are identified to have a disease posing public health threat;

- are suspects of or, are convicted of, a crime(s) that are subject to extradition pursuant to agreements to which the Republic of Turkey is a party to;

- are not covered with a valid medical insurance for the duration of their stay;

- fail to supply proof of the reason for their purpose of entry into, transit from or stay in Turkey;

- do not possess sufficient and sustainable resources [for the duration of their stay,

- would refuse to pay receivables, originating from overstaying the duration of visa or a previous residence permit duration or, that should be enforced and collected pursuant to the Law on the Procedure of Collection of Public Receivables № 6183 of 21/07/1953 or, debts and fines Part Two Foreigners 29 enforced pursuant to the Turkish Penal Code № 5237 of 26/09/2004,

Visas may be granted with the consent of the minister for persons who, although covered by Article 15, are entitled to a visa.

Provisions as to refusal, cancelation or non-renewal of family residence permits are set out in Article 36 of Law on Foreigners and International Protection No. 6458. Under the following cases a family residence permit shall not be granted, shall be cancelled if has been issued, and shall not be renewed when:

- short-term residence permit [application] is refused when the conditions for obtaining a family residence permit no longer apply,

- there is a valid removal decision or an entry ban to Turkey in respect to the foreigner;

- it is determined that the family residence permit is used for purposes other than of those it is issued for;

- the person requesting the family residence permit lived outside of Turkey for longer than one hundred and twenty days in total during the year preceding the application..

Provisions as to family residence permit through marriage of convenience are set out in Article 37 of Law on Foreigners and International Protection No. 6458. According to this;

Where there is reasonable doubt prior to granting or renewing a family residence permit the governorates shall investigate whether the marriage have been entered into solely for the purpose of obtaining a family residence permit. When it is so determined upon investigation family residence permit shall not be granted or, cancelled if has been issued.

Following the issuance of a family residence permit the governorates may carry out inspections in order to establish whether the marriage is of convenience.

Residence permits obtained through a fraudulent marriage and cancelled later, shall not count towards the summing of residence durations stipulated in this Law.